Oh great... This thing has a giant swim platform too so I will get to hear about how safe wakesurfing behind this thing will be.I can hear it now, "The sales guy said they surf it all the time."

These manufacturers are putting costumes on runabout boats so that they appear to fit within the tow boat category. It just takes sales away from legitimate water sports manufacturers.

Some guy will buy this at the show this weekend, call me this summer because it just doesn't have the wake that he thought it would and then I will have to drop the unfortunate news. YOU BOUGHT AN I/O.

Why all the hate Fourwinns makes a good looking boat...not sure why alot of people who own Inboards have it in for people who own I/O
Its a good looking boat.
And any one who is legit about wakeboarding knows that an I/O is probably not going to put out a wake the size of a Wake Specific boat.

Nothing wrong with the boat. In fact the fit and finish on this model is pretty damn good. It is just marketed as a Wakeboard boat. I get a little angry when I go to the boat show and there are surf boards in the I/O boat tower racks.

A lot of us grew up riding behind I/O's or even outboards but times have changed and we aren't just wakeboarding anymore.

I see this as a huge opportunity for inboard dealers to showcase signage this year at the boat shows explaining the dangers of I/O surfing and the disguise these I/O manufactures are putting on their standard issue runabouts.

Nothing wrong with the boat. In fact the fit and finish on this model is pretty damn good. It is just marketed as a Wakeboard boat. I get a little angry when I go to the boat show and there are surf boards in the I/O boat tower racks.

A lot of us grew up riding behind I/O's or even outboards but times have changed and we aren't just wakeboarding anymore.

Just curious... if they put a 4' platform on the boat and let's just say that the back end of the platform is further from the prop than say an average wakeboard boat what is the problem with surfing behind it? Are you any more likely to fall under the platform than you are to fall under the hull of a v drive? My buddy's 272 Cobalt has an extended platform and from the back of the platform to where the prop is is at least 3'-4'. the platform sits just as low to the water as most wake boats do...
My boat doesn't have an extended platform, the prop sticks out past the back of the boat, so yeah I get it, don't surf...

It all furthers the sport.....NO SURFING ON IT...But wake boarding?...Hell yeah...Mom & Dad buys this for the kids...They progress, they get an Inboard eventually. Everyone has to start somewhere. Plus, there are more people influencing these I/O's "wake boats" than you probably realize. Take a look at a small I/O company, Bryant. Their whole new line was designed by a past long time plant manager of Malibu. The hull design makes the wake, not the propulsion...
Lots of surfing going on on Yamahas, not promoted by Yamaha, but it is extremely popular. Surfwake is not clean but it works & safe. The wakeboard wake is actually very clean.
I am glad that as an industry that it is being promoted!

An I/O hangs behind the boat somewhere around 3 feet. If your swim Platform hangs 3-4 feet beyond that, thats not a platform its a deck!! If the platform was 7 feet long it would drag in the wake so bad surfing wouldn't be possible anyway. So your telling me the platform is the size of some peoples patio's..awesome! Still wouldn't surf it.

To each there own, if you want to surf an I/O have at it. Problem is in my mind someone is going to get killed surfing an I/O and then the whole sport risks getting banned because the Government doesn't know the difference between an I/O and a V drive either.

Yep angry. haha. I end up being the downer when I tell them we don't have any surf ballast for I/O's.

Quote:

Originally Posted by boardman74

To each there own, if you want to surf an I/O have at it. Problem is in my mind someone is going to get killed surfing an I/O and then the whole sport risks getting banned because the Government doesn't know the difference between an I/O and a V drive either.

That is my fear. People have already told me that wakesurfing has been banned on their lake because law enforcement thinks it is the same as teak surfing.

An I/O hangs behind the boat somewhere around 3 feet. If your swim Platform hangs 3-4 feet beyond that, thats not a platform its a deck!! If the platform was 7 feet long it would drag in the wake so bad surfing wouldn't be possible anyway. So your telling me the platform is the size of some peoples patio's..awesome! Still wouldn't surf it.

To each there own, if you want to surf an I/O have at it. Problem is in my mind someone is going to get killed surfing an I/O and then the whole sport risks getting banned because the Government doesn't know the difference between an I/O and a V drive either.

Agreed.

What really frustrates me, is the guy who owns the I/O and takes all his buddies (who dont know any better) out "surfing"....none of the people on that boat know the dangers or the risks involved with surfing an I/O.

Ironically I spoke with those guys at the show today.....Before I saw this thread! I asked them how much they sold their Supreme 226 for. Got to talking about Four Winns. Decent looking boat. I didn't even bring it up but the salesman was quick to point out that you CAN'T surf behind these boats!! Makes me wonder if he has read this thread? (What are the odds?)

Heard another story from a Sanger owner who fell wake surfing at Shasta and had the rope wrap around his body. Had the scars to prove it, lucky to be alive....He surfed a short time after, but his desire to wakesurf again isn't there. Stay safe guys...

never surf with a wakeboard rope, they cut like knives, 3rd or so story I have heard about this. Only use a large diameter rope and toss it as soon as you can with people in the boat pulling it up if you don't land it inside the boat.

Ironically I spoke with those guys at the show today.....Before I saw this thread! I asked them how much they sold their Supreme 226 for. Got to talking about Four Winns. Decent looking boat. I didn't even bring it up but the salesman was quick to point out that you CAN'T surf behind these boats!! Makes me wonder if he has read this thread? (What are the odds?)

Heard another story from a Sanger owner who fell wake surfing at Shasta and had the rope wrap around his body. Had the scars to prove it, lucky to be alive....He surfed a short time after, but his desire to wakesurf again isn't there. Stay safe guys...

Micah, I should clarify. It was pure accident. He didn't have if wrapped around his body on purpose, he was pulling himself closer to the boat, he fell forward, the rope somehow went around his back, torso and one complete time around one of his arms. Hard to describe in writing, but basically around his body, he has scars from the pull of the boat. Thankfully boat driver stopped ASAP.